At a glance
Badger Meter Inc is worth $4.11B, about 30 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 10.9% to $916.7M in fiscal 2025, with 15.5% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 16.6% a year. It pays a 1.14% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 9 years, and returned $171.4M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −21.5% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +8.0% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 39.0% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 30.5% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 7 months and 4 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Badger Meter, a Wisconsin company incorporated in 1905, makes equipment and software that measure and manage water. About 95% of its net sales come from water-related uses. It sells water meters, ORION radio units that send meter readings wirelessly, and BEACON, cloud-based software that helps utilities track usage and spot leaks faster. It also sells water quality sensors, pressure and leak detectors, and sewer monitors under the BlueEdge name, plus training and technical support.
Utility Water, which sells to water utilities, made up about 89% of net sales in 2025. Its sales come mostly from replacing old meters and upgrading technology, not new housing. Utilities are swapping manually read meters for radio-read ones and upgrading from AMR (readings collected by a passing vehicle) to AMI (advanced metering infrastructure, which sends readings over a network). The company estimates about 40% of US water meters have moved to AMI. It earns higher prices and margins on radio-equipped and ultrasonic meters and software than on basic mechanical meters.
Flow Instrumentation, about 11% of 2025 net sales, sells meters, valves and sensors to commercial and industrial customers, mainly for water, wastewater and HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) uses. The US accounted for 90.1% of 2025 revenue of $916.7 million, and Europe for 4.8%. No customer exceeded 10% of sales.
Price history
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BMI -21.5% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By geography
| US | $825.9M | 90.1% |
| Europe | $43.9M | 4.8% |
| CA | $15.2M | 1.7% |
| Asia | $14.3M | 1.6% |
| Middle East | $11.0M | 1.2% |
| Other Geographical Areas | $3.6M | 0.4% |
| MX | $2.7M | 0.3% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 30, 2026), revenue was $235.9M, up 0.1% from a year earlier, and net income was $35.9M (+2.4%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $916.7M (+10.9% year over year; +16.6% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 15.5% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +16.6% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 20% good |
| Free cash flow margin | 18.5% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 19.9% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 14.5% good |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $67.9M good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $425.5M | $49.3M | $80.5M |
| FY2021 | $505.2M | $60.9M | $80.8M |
| FY2022 | $565.6M | $66.5M | $76.6M |
| FY2023 | $703.6M | $92.6M | $98.1M |
| FY2024 | $826.6M | $124.9M | $142.2M |
| FY2025 | $916.7M | $141.6M | $169.7M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $4.11B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 30.1 |
| Dividend yield | 1.14% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Badger Meter’s market value went from $1.08B at the end of 2016 to $4.11B on Oct 28, 2026, about 3.8 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is down 20%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $4.11B | -19.9% |
| 2025 | $5.14B | -17.6% |
| 2024 | $6.24B | +37.7% |
| 2023 | $4.53B | +42.0% |
| 2022 | $3.19B | +2.4% |
| 2021 | $3.12B | +13.8% |
| 2020 | $2.74B | +44.9% |
| 2019 | $1.89B | +31.9% |
| 2018 | $1.43B | +3.0% |
| 2017 | $1.39B | +29.4% |
| 2016 | $1.08B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMI price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -16.7% | -21.5% | +2.3% | +8.0% | +17.4% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -16.7% |
| 2025 | -17.2% |
| 2024 | +38.3% |
| 2023 | +42.6% |
| 2022 | +3.2% |
| 2021 | +14.1% |
| 2020 | +46.4% |
| 2019 | +33.5% |
| 2018 | +4.1% |
| 2017 | +30.9% |
| 2016 | +27.7% |
| 2015 | 0.0% |
| 2014 | +10.4% |
| 2013 | +16.6% |
| 2012 | +64.0% |
| 2011 | -32.3% |
| 2010 | +12.6% |
| 2009 | +39.1% |
| 2008 | -34.8% |
| 2007 | +64.0% |
| 2006 | +42.8% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 34.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 68.2%, back to its old high 65.1 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 38.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 39%, back to its old high 6.6 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 14.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 30.5%, back to its old high 4.3 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 6 open-market purchases ($879K) and 0 sales ($0.00).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 2026 | Kenneth Bockhorst Chairman, President & CEO, Director | buy | $259K |
| Apr 21, 2026 | Richard Htwe VP-Global Operations | buy | $197K |
| Apr 23, 2026 | Robert Wrocklage EVP-N.A. Muncipal Utility | buy | $122K |
| Jul 30, 2026 | Edward F. Callahan VP-Engineering | buy | $102K |
| Apr 21, 2026 | Edward F. Callahan VP-Engineering | buy | $100K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 16.3% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 8.48% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.23% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| STATE STREET CORPORATION | 5.2% | Mar 31, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in BMI
| PSCT Invesco S&P SmallCap Information Technology ETF | 3.84% |
| BEEZ Honeytree U.S. Equity ETF | 3.78% |
| IWTR iShares MSCI Water Management Multisector ETF | 3.61% |
| AQWA Global X Clean Water ETF | 3.31% |
| SNSR Global X Internet of Things ETF | 3.16% |
| SIMS SPDR S&P Kensho Intelligent Structures ETF | 2.94% |
| TDV ProShares S&P Technology Dividend Aristocrats ETF | 2.53% |
| NVIR Horizon Kinetics Energy and Remediation ETF | 2.34% |
What could go wrong
- Static meters could open the door to rivals. Utilities are adopting static meters, which have no moving parts. The company says they face lower barriers to entry than mechanical meters, so newcomers could more easily challenge Badger Meter in North America.
- Telecom network shutdowns are outside its control. Its ORION radios, including cellular units behind its network-as-a-service offering, run on telecom networks. When carriers retire an older network, Badger Meter could be hurt, and the timing is largely outside its control.
- Single suppliers and tariffs on key materials. It relies on single suppliers for some brass castings (brass is mostly copper), plastic resins and electronic parts. Losing a supplier or facing new tariffs could raise costs, delay deliveries and squeeze margins.
- Long warranties raise the cost of defects. Its products are expected to last many years, so it offers extended warranties. Faulty products could force recalls, raise warranty costs, bring claims beyond its insurance and drive utility customers to rivals.
- Software or cloud failures could hurt results. It sells cloud-hosted software such as BEACON. Design flaws, trouble working with a utility's other systems, or a cloud network failure or breach could hurt sales, profits and cash flow.
- Acting as prime contractor adds project risk. On some projects it acts as prime contractor, responsible for the whole system, installation and subcontractors. If it falls short of what a utility or government expects, extra costs and reputational damage could follow.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Major agreement signed; Major agreement ended; New debt or financial obligation
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Bylaws or fiscal year changed; Shareholder vote results; Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
For income and retirement investors
Badger Meter pays a small but fast-growing dividend. Its filings show at least nine straight annual increases through fiscal 2025, and the streak may be longer. Dividends per share rose from $0.70 in fiscal 2020 to $1.48 in fiscal 2025, about 16% a year. The fiscal 2025 payout used 31% of earnings and 26% of free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business). The yield was 1.14% as of October 28, 2026, low for investors who live on dividends. Buybacks are minor: $15.9 million over fiscal 2021–2025, versus $155.5 million in dividends.
Downturns hit the shares hard. In the 2008 financial crisis they dropped 68.2% and needed about 65 months to recover. They fell 39% in the 2020 COVID crash and 30.5% in 2022, recovering in about seven and four months. They were down 21.5% over the year to October 28, 2026. Any single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Badger Meter make money?
Mainly by selling water meters, radio units and software to water utilities. That Utility Water line made up about 89% of net sales in 2025. The other roughly 11% came from Flow Instrumentation: meters, valves and sensors for commercial and industrial customers. Badger Meter earns higher prices and margins on radio-equipped meters, software such as BEACON, and ultrasonic meters than on basic mechanical ones. Most utility sales come from replacing old meters and upgrading technology, not from new homes.
Does Badger Meter raise its dividend every year?
Yes, as far as its filings go back. They show at least nine straight annual dividend increases through fiscal 2025, and the true streak may be longer. Dividends per share rose from $0.70 in fiscal 2020 to $1.48 in fiscal 2025, about 16% a year. The fiscal 2025 dividend used about 31% of earnings and 26% of free cash flow. The yield was 1.14% as of October 28, 2026. Past increases do not guarantee future ones.
Who are Badger Meter's competitors?
In utility water, rivals include Sensus (owned by Xylem), Neptune (owned by Roper Technologies), Itron, Aclara (owned by Hubbell), Hach (owned by Veralto), Mueller Water Products and Kamstrup, each competing with parts of Badger Meter's lineup. In flow instrumentation, competitors include Emerson Electric, Krohne Messtechnik, Endress+Hauser, Yokogawa Electric and Cameron International. The company says some rivals have greater financial resources, though it believes its products span the full water cycle and benefit from patents and trade secrets.
How much has Badger Meter stock fallen?
Sharply since the end of 2024. The shares fell 17.2% in 2025 and another 16.7% in 2026 through October 28, for a 21.5% drop over the 12 months to that date. In the three years to that date, the price fell as much as 55.1% from a peak. Longer term the record is stronger: the stock returned about 17.4% a year over the 10 years to October 28, 2026, though past returns do not predict future ones.
What is Badger Meter's P/E ratio?
About 30.1 as of October 28, 2026, based on fiscal 2025 earnings of $4.79 per share. The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio compares the share price with a year's profit per share, so investors were paying about 30 times earnings. A higher P/E usually reflects expectations of continued growth, which leaves less cushion if growth slows. In the quarter ended September 30, 2026, revenue rose just 0.1% from a year earlier, and net income rose 2.4%.